#note to self: add asset link for feathers

[moulinruno]

It was a demon- well, that's how he interprets it.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Call Me James

Characters: Bucky Barnes x Tattoo Artist!Reader, Clint Barton, minor characters

Word Count: 2,093

Warnings: none

Summary: You have a very special talent, and the tattoos on your body are able to tell your story for you. When Nick Fury gets word of you, he thinks you could be a very valuable asset to the team.

Squared Filled: Tattoo Artist AU // Tattoos // Free Space

Author’s Note: I know you guys have requests and I promise to get to them. I have two bingos I need to finish before the deadline in Aug/Sept and by the rate I am going, I will be done before that so please bear with me. This is for @star-spangled-bingo and @clintbartonbingo and @buckybarnesbingo respectively and if you have any requests, please send them in! This is unbeta’d and any and all mistakes are all on me.

Feedback the glue that holds my writing together

Tags at the bottom

“How are you holding up, boss?” you asked your client that has been in your chair for the past six hours. Rubbing his skin to remove the excess ink, you cleared your view before going back in. The man who came in wanted a big ass tattoo on the back of his calf, and when you expressed you could easily do it, he brought up the money faster than you could say “damn”. He was doing considerably well for the area. He’s only flinched a few times, but that was to be expected in the area he wanted the tattoo.

“Good. Are you almost done?” he asked as he squinted his eyes shut.

“Yes. I have to do some more shading around this area,” you marked with your finger, “and then you’re all done.”

“Did yours hurt this bad?” he asked as he pointed to the tattoo of a deadly tiger that you had on the side of your right calf. Looking down at the tattoo, you remembered the time and energy you spent doing that on yourself. Most of your tattoos were done by yourself with only a few in the hard to reach spots being done by artists you trust. There was something special about your tattoos that no one else could replicate. If people knew the true power you possessed, then they would be too scared to come into your store.

“I have a really high pain intolerance,” you chuckled as you continued with your work. Before you could finish with the tattoo, you heard the bell on the front door meaning you had a customer. Looking at the clock, you realized you had enough time to fit one more person in depending on what they wanted. “Do you mind if I get that real quick?”

“No, go ahead,” he said. Taking off your black gloves once you set the tools down, you threw them away as you walked to the front of your store.

“Hi, can I help you?” you asked once you made eye contact with the middle-aged man. He looked oddly familiar. There might have been a time where you’ve seen this man on TV, but you couldn’t be sure.

“I have some questions I need to ask you if you have the time right now.”

“Regarding what?”

“Tattoos.”

“Are you looking to get one? I have some time after my client.”

“No, I’m not. I just had a few questions. I’ll wait until you’re done if that works better,” he said politely. There was something in the way he spoke that was really familiar.

“Like I said, I’m with a client. Have a seat and I’ll be with you as soon as I can,” you said with a tight smile before returning to your client in the back. When he saw you returning, he put down his phone as you put on fresh black gloves.

“Everything okay?” he asked one he saw the distress on your face.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you said as you took a seat. Quickly resuming your work, you finished within the next 30 minutes. A tattoo always needed to be cleaned, so when you did it, you grabbed the second skin that he requested to be put on after when he was done. “Okay, let this sit for about 24 hours, come in, I’ll replace it with a new skin, and then come back in a week to get it removed. Your tattoo should be healed by then.”

“This is awesome. You’re truly talented,” he praised as he looked at it in the mirror.

“Thank you, that means a lot,” you chuckled as you took a few pictures of it to add to your portfolio. Guiding him to the front desk, the transaction didn’t take long to process, and the man left your store in another five minutes. Looking at the stranger who waited patiently, you put the cash away in the register before speaking.

“I’m sorry for the wait, but if you could give me five more minutes to clean up, I’ll be right out.”

“Take your time,” he smiled. Quickly nodding, you escaped to your studio as you cleaned the station thoroughly. As you cleaned, you absentmindedly racked your brain as to why this man was here and what he wanted. Did he really want a tattoo? Did he want to rob you? Did he want to know for a friend? This whole situation was making you nervous that you bypassed the most important detail about this man. When he came in, you noticed he had a folder in his hand, but you didn’t pay any attention to it until you suddenly remembered the two words on that folder.

Avengers Initiative.

Shit, this man was either from SHIELD or he worked with Tony Stark which meant only one thing. They knew who you were and what you were truly capable of. The reasons why your tattoos were so special because you had the ability to make them come alive. Yes, that’s right. Whatever you tattooed on your body, you were able to manifest into a physical object and turn it back into a tattoo once you were finished with it. No, you don’t know exactly how you got these powers because you were born with it.

The first time you noticed something was off when you drew on yourself for the first time. Drawing was your passion ever since you were little, and when you used your skin as a canvas, you realized you had powers that none other possessed. For example, when you were about seven years old, you had drawn a detailed dragon on your thigh because you had been bored and there wasn’t any paper around.

“There,” you muttered to yourself as you put down the pen. The dragon you drew was colorful and big, expanding across the entire length of your upper right thigh. As you set the pen down, you could have sworn the dragon moved. Your suspicions were confirmed when the whole dragon shivered its body, flaring the feathers you drew so delicately. Then, out of nowhere, the dragon manifested itself off your skin and into a real-life dragon. There was a real-life fucking dragon in your room. The same colors, same design, only that it was fleshy and alive.

After that, you figured out that whatever you drew on your body would have the ability to come to life. Even inanimate objects would be able to manifest itself at a single thought. No one knew of your abilities because you would become the next science experiment for the government to toy with.

Instead, you used your tattoos for good and whenever you could without getting caught. However, with every good thing, there are bound to be bad things to follow. Yes, you could manifest your tattoos into real life, but there were consequences.

“Okay, Mr. Dragon, this is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. How did this even happen?” you started freaking out. The dragon roared, and you were glad you were home alone this time. Since your room was small even for you, it had a hard time maneuvering around. His tail was always bumping into things until it actually knocked over your first-grade trophy for the spelling bee that you were meaning to put away in storage. The trophy came crashing down on the dragon’s foot, and pain erupted from your own foot as if the two of you were linked. The dragon roared in pain before transforming back into your drawing on your leg.

“Son of a bitch!” you cursed as you caressed your throbbing foot.

If your tattoos felt pain, so did you. If they bled, so did you. When they felt enough pain, they turned back into drawings/tattoos so that you could focus on the injury on your own body. However, this isn’t like this for everyone. Tattoos given to you by other people don’t have any effect on you, it has to be by your hand, and your hand only. Any tattoo that you give others has no effect on them, it has to be your body. It was a weird power to possess, but you’ve learned to deal with it. That was the only thing you could think of as to why this man was waiting for you with a folder that said “Avengers Initiative” on it.

Nonetheless, when you were done cleaning, you walked into the lobby before sitting down on the couch.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“First, my name is Clint Barton. I was sent by Nick Fury to talk to you about something you might find interesting,” he said as he opened the file. That is where you knew him from. He was all over the news along with the other five Avengers. He was the one with a bow and arrow.

“Okay, and?” you asked as you played the dumb card.

“Is this you?” he asked as he handed you pictures of you with a grown tiger by your side. This was the time you saved a hunter from shooting a lion. The tiger was able to scare off the hunters bad enough to stop them from going out there ever again.

“Is that a crime to be near a tiger?” you asked calmly.

“Fine. Is this you?” he asked as he held up the phone that Tony provided him with. A holographic video began playing of you showing your tattoos manifesting itself and fighting before going back on your skin.

“Whatever you want, it won’t work on you,” you sighed.

“I already told you. I’m not here for a tattoo. Nick Fury thinks you’d be essential to the team.”

“The team? You want me to be an Avenger?” you scoffed.

“Something wrong with that?”

“If he wants me to be one, why didn’t he come down here and tell me this his damn self?”

“He’s preoccupied. I think you could be beneficial to the team and we could benefit you as well.”

“Can I at least think about it?”

“Of course. Here’s his number,” Clint said as he handed you Nick’s card. He got up and left the file for you to review as a sort of convincing factor to your decision. “Think long and hard about it.”

“Okay,” you sighed as he left your shop. What would you do in this situation?

“Everyone, this is Y/N. She will be joining us on further missions indefinitely,” Nick introduced you to the whole team. Everyone seemed to be staring at the many tattoos on your body, or at least, the ones they could see.

“Did you do all of those yourself?” Natasha asked.

“Most of them yes. I couldn’t do any on the hard to reach places, but I did what I could with what I had,” you chuckled.

“Those are amazing,” Bucky spoke up. He seemed too mesmerized by your tattoos. He has always loved them on other people, not himself. He especially loved it when a woman sported a lot because it made her look badass.

“Thank you, James,” you grinned. The whole team grew silent after you said his name. “What, did I miss something?”

“His name is Bucky. Well, James is his real name, but he goes by Bucky.”

“Oh, my apologies,” you chuckled.

“Can you show us what you can do?” Steve asked, curious as hell to see this. Smiling, you began the demonstration of your powers.

“I think what you did earlier was just amazing,” Bucky said when he found you in the common area all alone. Looking up from your file, you made room for him on the two-person sofa.

“Thank you. I love all my tattoos. Do you have any?”

“No, I don’t like them on me. On you, they look badass,” he grinned.

“You’re actually the first person to say that to me,” you said shyly.

“Really?”

“Yeah, people usually see my tattoos and immediately get disgusted. They think I’m a bad person doing bad shit, always getting into trouble. It makes me sad to hear those things because I’m far from that. I hate hurting anything, even flies. I try to trap them in cups and let them go back outside. It’s like no one wants to get to know me. They see the tattoos and they get turned off,” you confessed.

“Well, I don’t know you that well, but if you’ll let me, I’d like to,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you, Bucky. I’d like that.”

“Call me James.”

If you want to be tagged, add yourself to this document! If your tag doesn’t work, find out why!

@ivvitm1109  @octo-cow52  @kendall-michele  @awkwardfangirl2014  @niall2017  @schwankyblock  @feelmyroarrrr  @mackevanstanfan80  @fandomgirl17  @bluedazefangirl  @tardis-is-mine  @moonstar86  @tdntu0  @imdiegohargreeves  @ferls212  @kpoplover1306-depressedgirl315  @notyourtypicalrose  @majesticavenger  @the-real-mary-jane  @miraclesoflove